Postcards From Far Away
by jane-eliza
Summary: She hates him for what he did to her; and as each day passes, her stomach grows larger and the stone-cold antipathy set within her seems to grow with it.' Sylar, Elle, baby Noah. Elle-centric.


She hates him. She fucking _hates _him for what he did to her; and as each day passes, her stomach grows larger and the stone-cold antipathy set within her seems to grow with it. Not only did that son of a bitch well nigh _kill_ her, but also managed to get her pregnant. And she's not sure which she hates him more for: the slicing open of her skull, or the tiny life form currently residing in her abdomen that's ruining her life.

-

She's almost suicidal when she finds the first stretch marks. This kid will be the death of her; she knows it _(just like its father). _When she goes for the necessary scans and checkups, the saggy middle-aged woman doctor keeps offering for her to find out the sex, and she declines sharply every time. She doesn't want to find out the sex of the _thing_; doesn't want to know anything about it – it's getting dumped on some happy childless couple as soon as it's out of her, after all. The sooner it's gone; the sooner she can get back to her life, so she somehow manages to grin and bear it.

-

She discovers that women don't lie when they say that childbirth is the hardest and most painful thing a human being can suffer. The nurse volunteers to hold her hand, but she's afraid of the mess she'll be in when she fries her into blackened dust. Instead, she burns a hole in the bed sheet as the devil child rips through her lower body.

-

She hates this baby, hates it almost as much as she hates the man who put her through it all. They yank the tiny pink thing out of her; announce that she's mother to a baby boy; before swathing the little wriggler in a blanket and foisting it into her arms. She peers down at it, and it soundlessly peers back. His electric blue eyes mirror her own.

She decides she doesn't hate this baby, after all.

-

She decides to call her son Noah, after Bennet, for if it weren't for him, there wouldn't be a little Noah in the first place had she never met Gabriel. Baby Noah's namesake is one of the very few who know about her new life, along with Uncle Peter and, to her pique, Claire _(who Uncle Peter insists be known as 'Aunt' Claire)._ She names Peter godfather, as she doesn't have much of a variety, and deliberately deprives Noah of a godmother just to spite the cheerleader. Claire pretends not to care too much, but disappointment shines in her eyes and it makes Elle grin.

-

She adorns every spare shelf, sill and mantel of her pokey little house that's not heaving with baby stuff with pictures of Noah. She snaps photographs every opportunity she gets: when he's sleeping, when he's smiling, eating, crying, anything he does, she'll catch it with a click of her camera. She's decided she feels guilty for how she felt throughout the pregnancy, and is trying to make up for it by showing her baby boy off in any possible way she can – she provides Claire with two photos, Bennet with four, and _Uncle _Peter with eight; three of which he keeps in his wallet. This is how _he_ finds out.

-

He arrives at her front door one morning when she's feeding Noah in his little blue and red rocket high chair, and she hates how her stomach flutters as his dark eyes trail up her body to meet hers. She sets her jaw, and glares at him.

"How did you find out?"

"Elle – "

"_How did you find out?!"_

He digs down into his back pocket and pulls out a worn leather wallet, flipping it open so she can plainly see three of the pictures she'd given to Peter.

She raises an eyebrow, scornfully. "So you robbed him."

"Why does he even have these?! Surely he's not tucking you _both _in at night, and Claire also!"

She ignores the incestuous reference to Claire _(although everyone knows they're more than uncle and niece)_. "I gave them to him. He's godfather."

This really sets him off. "Godfather?! Why on earth would you ever make _Peter Petrelli_ godfather to our son?"

"_My _son_._ He will _never_ be your son, do you understand that? _Never._"

"Just let me see him."

And she swears he's just used some mind trick on her, because she wordlessly leads him towards the kitchen.

-

Noah doesn't feel his father's eyes bore into him as he plays with his boiled egg, but she can't shake them off. He's staring down at her son with a look she's never seen before; a look that makes her feel slightly uneasy, so she pulls Noah up from his rocket high chair and into her arms. Noah stuffs a chubby little fist into his mouth and flails the other in the air, staring at the dark-haired psychopath who just so happens to be his dad. Said father reaches out to brush a finger against the toddler's rosy cheek, and a cold shiver shoots down her spine at the close contact.

"Hello, Noah."

Her heart starts thumping against her ribcage, and he spares a glance to her at the sudden increase in cardiac activity. Noah continues to gawk at him, not making a sound.

"I'm…" he glances to Elle briefly, before smiling at her son. "I'm your daddy."

She fights back the urge to frazzle him there and then. Noah remains still for a moment, and then breaks out into a grin. She's never felt more betrayed in her life.

Noah's tiny little hands reach towards Gabriel, his baby fingers trying to grab a hold of him in any shape or form. She pivots away from him, trying her utmost best to stop him from winning over her son, but Noah begins whining; and when she turns back to stop the boy from throwing a tantrum, Gabriel can't stop the smirk that steals over his lips. Elle finds herself wishing that she could also shoot lightning from her eyes, too.

-

She hates him. She fucking _hates_ him for what he did to her; but as each day passes, their son grows a little bit more and the stone-cold antipathy set within her seems to diminish with it. Not only did that son of a bitch well nigh _kill_ her, but also managed to get her pregnant. And he's every bit the father neither of them had but both had wanted, and she has to admit, she's glad that Noah has him in his life. Glad that both she _and_ Noah have him in their lives, although she'll never let him know that.

-

_Title comes from a Coldplay song._

_Let me know if it sucked, please. Especially about the ending; I'm still unsure about it. Well, I lost my Heroes mojo for quite some time, and I'm pretty much praying that it's come back with this. This is for Bethany, by the way, cause we both needed some Syelle._

_CJM._


End file.
